Obsession
by The Blue Rhapsody
Summary: Mai finds out that not all demons get rid of their grudges, especially when one has their eyes on Mai herself. (MaixNaru and some TakigawaxAyako. Rated T!)
1. Case 1:: Mummy Won't Wake I

_**Disclaimer: I'm not gonna put this in every chapter (let's face it, it'd get annoying quickly), so the disclaimer'll just be right here ^-^ I don't own Ghost Hunt. If I did, Mai and Naru would be together, there'd be a season two and Gene would be alive and teasing Noll like crazy. Unfortunately, life kinda sucks, so I don't own Ghost Hunt T^T**_

**-Case 1-**

**(Terror Rate-* of five)**

**I**

**"Mummy Won't Wake"**

Some days were terrifying at SPR-some were quiet and peaceful-and then some days were plain outright boring.

This was one of those days.

Mai yawned to herself. The sun was nice and warm against the back of her light blue sweater, but Mai heard it was supposed to rain today. As soon as she thought that, the familiar _pitter patter_ of rain started to hit the window. _Oh, great, that's super. Another thing to make me fall asleep to._ Mai sarcastically thought and rested her chin in her hands. She had done all the filing for today, made Naru's tea, cleaned up a bit, and it was only four. It started to rain harder, and the tick tock of the clock gained a hypnotizing sound. Mai's head started to lull back and forth, and her eye lids felt heavier with each passing moment... _So…sleepy…_ Mai nearly fell asleep, but jerked her head back at the last second. She shook her head, but laid it down on the desk. _Can't…fall….asleep…_ So, when someone knocked on the door, Mai was so surprised she fell out of her seat. With a blushing face, Mai scrambled to open the door.

When she did, however, she got quite a surprise.

A kid with dark red hair and brown eyes stared intently at Mai. His hair and clothes were dry, but the yellow rain coat he dragged behind him was sopping wet, like it was dragged through a bunch of puddles. The boy's eyes were, at first, warm and full of light, but then narrowed to a dark and unforgiving meaner in a matter of a second. The aura or mistrust the boy gave off was slightly surprising, but Mai guessed this was only because they had never met. Some little kids were wildly unpredictable.

"Hello there!" Mai smiled and crouched down so she was the same height as the boy. "What's your name?"

"You better not be the manager, you're way too young." The boy bluntly insulted and frowned. _Excuse me?!_ Mai screamed in her head. _Who does this little boy think he is? I'm at_ least _nine years older than him!_

"N-No, I'm not the manager." Mai weakly laughed her anger away. Maybe the boy was harsh to her because he used insults as a defense, since none of his parents were in the room?

"Good. A manager like you would've made this place go to the dumps." _Why you-!_

"Hayato!" A teenager stepped through the doorway. "Don't be mean to her!" He turned to Mai. "I'm very sorry about the behavior of my little brother. Normally he's very kind, but..." He shook his head and bowed. "I'm Juba Kazuo, by the way. Sorry we've showed up out of the blue, but something recently happened, and we need help right away. Our electricity is out right now, so we were unable to call you. The electrician said it wouldn't be fixed until tomorrow, and we really need to solve this..._problem _of ours." Up close, Mai noticed how much Kazuo and Hayato looked alike. They both had dark red hair and brown eyes, but Kazuo's were much warmer than his little brother's. Mai smiled and waved his apology away.

"Don't worry, it's fine." Mai replied. Kazuo smiled at her, and Mai felt a blush creeping on. "Oh, I'm Taniyama Mai, by the way." She bowed, and Kazuo did so, too. His smile only grew. Naru cleared his throat behind them, and Mai gave a start.

"Are you another assistant?" Hayato asked.

"Don't mind my little brother." Kazuo finally tore his eyes from Mai and smiled at Naru. Naru didn't return it, but gave a glare Mai had never seen before, and she had gotten plenty of glares from Naru. The edges of Kazuo's smile turned into a thin line. _That's strange…_ Mai thought. _Is Naru jeal-no,_ she shook her head, _Naru is never jealous._

"Ne, ne, how about I make everyone a cup of tea?" Mai asked to break the tension. It seemed to work, because the two boys finally stopped their staring contest and nodded a "yes", so Mai set off to make the tea. When she came back Naru was already ready to interview, and Lin had already set up his laptop. Naru started by asking what paranormal experiences Kazuo and his family were experiencing. Mai set down the tea on the table, and Kazuo gratefully drank it and thanked her. Naru, as per usual, didn't say anything, but silently drank his tea.

"Well, it started when my parents bought a house after my mother got pregnant," Kazuo began and set the tea down. "My father was a little bit suspicious as to why the house was so cheap, but my mother ignored him. She loves cheap things. She didn't even question when we barely got any information on the house. Anyways, as soon as we moved in, strange things started to happen. We'd find that the stove would turn on in the middle of the night, even when we unplugged it ad items would move around all the time."

"What kind of items?" Naru asked.

Kazuo shrugged and replied, "Nothing much. A napkin holder or a stuffed teddy bear. The only thing that's gone missing and hasn't been found is my mother's emerald necklace. We have no idea what happened to it, and we've checked everywhere. Moving on, I walked into my room one time, and everything was on the opposite side from where it was before, but I was home alone and heard nothing. Another time my mother, Hayato, and I went out to eat, but when we came back, we found my dad cowering in the bathroom. He said he heard us screaming, and he ran upstairs, but everything from our rooms was thrown out into the hallway-our books, our clothes, and even our beds.

"He also claimed that he saw two dark figures standing in the middle of it all, and that they ran towards him at an alarming speed, considering they had to travel over a bunch of mess. Dad said he panicked and ran off to hide, and he's the bravest man I know. Recently, things have been getting worse. One of our knives went missing, and we found it stuck on a picture of my grandfather in the hallway upstairs, but his eyes were slashed, along with the rest of the painting. And..." He gulped and took a breath. "We think the ghost made our mother loose the baby. It was only twenty three weeks old." Mai let out a gasp. The typing stopped for a moment, then resumed.

"No!" Mai's had flew over her mouth. Even Naru seemed surprised. Kazuo nodded sadly.

"What made you think the ghost did it?" Naru asked.

"Because my mother said she was pushed down the stairs by some unknown force, and when she hit the ground, she said she felt someone strangling her, but once my brother came to help her, she could finally breathe again. That happened two days ago, and we're fed up and scared out of our minds, and we've only spent two months there. Not to mention that out electricity went out for no reason this morning. Please, we need to get rid of these ghosts. Can you help us?" Kazuo pleaded. Naru stayed silent for a moment, and then finally said, "We'll take it." Kazuo let out a sigh of relief and told them the address of his house. "It's the only house in the woods. There's a trail of red stained rocks leading to it, but we've never figured out why they're there or how they got like that.

"Is ten A.M. this Sunday a good time for you?" Kazuo inquired.

"It's fine." Naru replied. Kazuo nodded and took his brother's hand.

"Thank you for the tea, Taniyama-san." Kazuo thanked her and left. Mai shut the door behind them.

"Those ghosts sound really violent," she said as she cleaned up. _Hmm, Kazuo didn't really drink much. I guess he doesn't have much of an appetite?_ "For so many things happening in such a short time…" When Naru didn't reply, Mai looked back and saw that he was immersed in thought. She stared for a while longer when Naru looked up and said, "Mai, as attractive as I am, you don't need to stare at me all the time." Mai puffed her cheeks out in anger.

"Who says you're attractive?!"

"You're red as a tomato, Mai."

"Because of you!"

"So you admit that I'm attractive?"

"I didn't say that!

"But you're not denying it." Naru smirked. _You are so lucky I'm in love with you, Oliver Davis! _ Mai screamed in her mind. "Mai, you're spilling the leftover tea all over your clothes." Mai looked down and gasped.

"Gah! No! And this is my favorite shirt!" Mai grabbed a paper towel and tried to dry it off, but it was too late. The tea had already stained her shirt. "Now I have to buy another shirt," she grumbled and turned to Naru. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You should have been paying attention. Oh, and while you're there." He set aside his empty tea cup. "Tea." Naru found it amusing when his assistant turned around and started to grumble to herself. Speaking of which, Mai had seemed to occupy his mind these days. The narcissus thought he would finally stop thinking about his assistant when he would return to Japan. That _had_ to make sense, right? The girl would surely stop appearing in his mind once he would see her in person, but he couldn't have been more wrong. In England, Naru would often find himself reading, and then his mind would drift off to Mai before he would shake back into reality. Now, Mai would pop into his mind anytime, and a small smile would threaten to appear on his face.

Naru didn't like it. No, let's rephrase that: He didn't like how he liked it.

"I don't see how you can drink so much tea." Mai set the tea down in front of Naru and took his other cup. Naru ignored her and drank from his cup. To be honest, nothing could compare to how well Mai made her tea. It made everything else seem bland and tasteless.

"I suppose we'll call in everyone else, then?" Mai inquired.

"Yes." Naru took another sip, and Mai went off to call her friends. By now, Mai was used to her boss's short replies. After all, Naru was a man of few words.

* * *

Mai wanted to scream and shout so badly, but she couldn't. She wanted to jump out of the car and run around, but that wasn't such a good idea in a moving car. The car ride had lasted a long two hours, and they still had an hour and forty five minutes left to go. After poking Naru and demanding he entertain her ("You're my boss, Naru, so that means you have to think of something to entertain me!") to which Naru replied that, as her boss, he would cut her pay check in half if she didn't quiet down, which successfully made Mai shut up. She sighed and slumped in her seat. Maybe she could take a nap? After all, yesterday she wasn't able to, so why not now?

And before Mai knew it, she was asleep.

_"Kaniji, Noberu! Come inside now!" Mai called and smiled to herself. Her kids were always so adorable. _Wait, kids?_ Mai thought. _I must be having one of those dreams_… A boy with black hair and gray eyes ran up to Mai and jumped into her arms. Mai spun Kaniji around and set him down. "Ne, ne, did you find any sea shells today?" She asked._

_"We did! We found a lot!" Noberu ran up to Mai and held out his palms. Like his brother, his eyes were gray, but his hair was brown. Noberu's hands were filled with sea shells, many of them threatening to fall off the boy's small hand. Mai smiled and said they were beautiful. She held the door opened and said, "Come on, it's time for lunch." The boys cheered and ran inside. _I must be seeing this through the mother's point of view,_ Mai commented in her head. Mai pulled out the chairs for her children and set the food down on the table. She watched in enjoyment as her pride and joys gobbled down the food, then ran outside to play. Mai smiled and started to pick up the plates. _I'm not worried,_ the thought of the mother echoed in Mai's mind. _They've gone down to the beach a thousand times, and they've never gotten hurt. Why, if you blindfolded them, they could still point out every little detail of the beach!

_"And where's my food?" A gruff voice interrupted Mai's (or to be precise, the mother's) thoughts. Mai turned around and started to tremble, but forced herself to calm down. _

_"It's still cooking," she lied. "But I promise it's going to be delicious." The man stepped forward (Mai guessed this was the woman's husband) and raised a hand. Mai flinched. "It better be." He lowered it and left the room. Mai fell to her knees, amazed at her luck that, for once, she wasn't hit. _

Mai woke up to a jolt on her shoulder. Her eyes traveled from the tips of the fingers to the man's gorgeous indigo eyes. Mai felt a blush creep up to her cheeks, and Naru let go of her shoulders.

"We're here."

"R-Right." Mai got out and gasped. "Wow!" She exclaimed. The house was gigantic, much larger than any house. From the outside, it looked like it was at least three stories tall. It was made of wood, but it looked like it was polished recently. There was a magnificent garden hugging the stone path that led to the polished wooden house.

"This is beautiful!" She whispered in excitement.

"Mai, once you're done gaping at the house, would you be as kind as to help bring in the equipment?" Naru impatiently demanded.

"Hai!" Mai chirped. Normally, she would have groaned, but Mai couldn't wait to see what the inside looked like. Walking up the stone pathway, Mai found herself humming an improvised tune.

"Your voice is lovely," Kazuo commented. Mai looked around and saw that Kazuo stood on the porch.

"Thank you, but I'm not that good. Can you show me where our base is?"

"Certainly." He led her into the house. The floors looked as if they had been recently cleaned, and nothing was dusty. Mai could have sworn the floors were sparkling.

"Why are there so many rooms?" She asked. Kazuo shrugged and said that they heard the previous owner of the house wanted to turn it into a hotel, but never got the chance to. They stopped in a room next to the wooden stairs.

"I hope you don't mind this room. It's the largest room we have." He opened the door with a smile. Indeed, the room was certainly large enough to fit all of the equipment, and even more. There was even a little kitchen and two couches.

"This is perfect." Mai nodded and set the equipment down.

Kazuo smiled in return and said, "Any time." Mai smiled back. Kazuo's smile couldn't have been more different than the narcissistic boss she fell in love with...wait.

Naru.

Mai slapped her forehead and scolded herself. How could she have been so forgetful?! Her dream! "Ah! I need to tell Naru something!" Mai raced out of the room and ran down the halls.

Hayato opened the door to his room, then sighed annoyingly and shut it. So, those _ghost busters _wanted to change life here? _Please. _Hayato smirked. _They wanna make my life hell for the next week? Fine. Then I'll make their life their living hell._

* * *

_A/N: R&amp;R, por favor!_


	2. Case 1:: Mummy Won't Wake II

**-Case 1-**

**(Terror Rate: *, maybe ** at most.)**

**II**

**"Mummy Won't Wake"**

_Mai's POV_

Naru's going to kill me. I'm lost! Hey, it's not my fault. The house is so _big! _

"Naru!" I called. "Lin-san?" My voice carried down the hall and out the windows. It must have been a little after sunset because a calm, mesmerizing light glittered through the windows. I tried calling again, but there was no answer. Dang it! You know what would be really ironic right now? If I was attacked by a ghost. I weakly laughed and looked around. I wasn't _that_ much of a danger magnet, was I? I paused to remember all those times I was harmed by a ghost. Getting dragged down a well, getting dragged into the sewer, getting water dumped on me, running from a demon, etc...Okay, maybe I was a danger magnet. But we haven't even been here for twenty-four hours! There was _no way_ I could get attacked so quickly, unless it was a really powerful ghost... I gave a yelp when I knocked over a vase, but I caught it at the last moment. That's strange-no water came out. Was someone here before? I looked down and saw a water spill on the wooden floor. The spill must have been there for a few minutes. I quietly set the vase down and continued on.

"Oh, it's you." I turned around and saw Hayato-kun. "Are you lost?" His eyes twinkled with sadistic amusement. I nodded. "I expected so." Grrr, why is he so mean to me? Wait, I once read somewhere that boys Hayato-kun's age have troubles expressing their emotions. Maybe he was just- Wait, how did he find me? Was he following me? If so, then why didn't I hear him? Oh, maybe I did and I just didn't notice him. Wait, then why didn't he say anything to me? How long has he been following me?! And I really don't like that look in his eyes-like he knows your most embarrassing secret and is just about to announce it to the public. Hold on, Mai, are you sure he's following you? Well, yes! I haven't spotted another living soul! Hayato-kun snapped his fingers in front of my face. "Are you listening? How did you get lost?" I frowned. He didn't need to snap in my face!

"This house is so big, I guess I just took a wrong turn." I shrugged.

"Only an idiot like you could do that. Now c'mon!" He grabbed my hand and started to lead me down the hallway. I wanted to kill him so bad! What did I ever do to him? Maybe he's just offensive because his parents aren't around, and he feels scared? An image of Hayato-kun sitting in a crib while his mother rocked him back and forth popped into my mind. I giggled. Yeah, like _that _would ever happen! "What're you giggling at?" Hayato-kun inclined his head towards me, his brown eyes terrifying and full of barbaric mirth. I felt as if his eyes were piercing my very soul, just waiting to reach into my very heart and-Snap out of it, Mai! Hayato-kun isn't just some demon, he's a little kid!...Well, a scary little kid with _a lot _of attitude.

"N-Nothing's wrong." I felt every muscle in my body tense. Hayato-kun's eyes returned to their cold state and his attention shifted to the hallway. C'mon, Mai! He's just a kid! Stop thinking like that! He wouldn't actually _hurt _you!

...

So why is every fiber in my body screaming to get away? "Did you bring any others? A priest or something?" Hayato-kun asked. I snapped out of my thoughts and nodded. Well, that's kind of a weird question to ask, but you never know with little kids.

"Yeah. There's Ayako, who's a priestess, John, who's a priest, and Bou-san, who's a monk." Hayato mumbled something angry under his breath. Wait...does he speak English? It sounded like he does. When I asked him, he scoffed. "Of course I do. I've spoken Japanese and English my whole life. I also speak a variety of other languages, but it's too long to list." Where does this kid go to school?!

"How old are you, anyways?"

"I seem to appear seven, don't I?" He asked. I nodded. "Good. The younger, the better." Wait, Hayato-kun's way to young to think about age! He turned left and he opened a door. Hey, we're back in the base room! I didn't know there was a door at the back of the room, but the look on Naru's face made me want to scramble away.

Crap. I'm dead.

**_Normal POV_**

From the look of his body language, Kazuo had definitely been arguing with Naru. Naru, on the other hand, was leaning against the table with his arms crossed. He had obviously been scowling and tapped the side of his arm with his left index finger.

"Mai, _where have you been?" _Naru asked in a scary, yet calm voice. Mai found herself at a loss-Naru had never looked so calm, yet so angry at the same time. "Mai, I asked you a question. _Where were you?"_

"I-I got lost," Mai replied, finally finding her voice. Kazuo sighed in relief, and Naru frowned. "Don't blame me! This house is huge!" Mai turned to Hayto and said, "Thank you for helping me, Hayato-kun."

"I've always taken pity on fools like you," Hayato replied and started to walk off. Mai's eye twitched in anger. _I was trying to be nice, you jerk! _She screamed in her head. "Now if you don't mind, it's time for me to go to sleep. This small body of mine cannot handle much in a day. Goodnight, you pitied, old fools." Hayato slammed the door behind him. Kazuo called after him and left the room, leaving an awkward silence behind. Naru's cold, crisp indigo eyes focused on Mai.

"How did you get lost so early on?" Naru frowned. Mai shrugged.

"I guess I took a wrong turn?" Mai felt a flicker of pain in her head. She winced and rubbed her temples. _Great, a headache, and it hasn't even been twenty-four hours. _"Wait..." Mai squinted her eyes as she tried to remember. No, she definitely didn't take a wrong turn, so how did she get lost? She closed her eyes and tried to remember. "There was...the sound of foot prints, I think," she murmured. Why was she having trouble remembering? This only happened two hours ago! "And..." Right! Mai heard footsteps, followed them, and saw-

Suddenly, a beaten, bloodied and scared child appeared in Mai's mind. The girl opened her mouth and spoke, _"Leave this house and never come back." _Then, as if someone had snapped in a silent room, Mai was thrown back into the present. _Wait, how did I get lost again...? _Naru and Lin stared at Mai with confused eyes.

"What are you saying?" Naru raised an eyebrow. Mai blinked in confusion.

"Uh...Are you talking to me?" Mai asked.

"No, Mai, I'm talking to Lin. Of _course _I'm talking to you." Naru rolled his eyes. Mai puffed her cheeks out.

"I believe a spirit used Taniyama-san to tell us a message." Lin sat back down. "It certainly seemed like it. You stopped speaking for a minute, and then you were possessed."

"I was...possessed?" Mai repeated and fell silent when she saw that Naru was in thought. Something was obviously bothering him. "Naru, are you alright?" Naru and Lin exchanged quick glances. Mai crossed her arms. _There they go again with that silent conversation! _She frowned, then brightened. "Oh, Naru, I had a dream!" Mai exclaimed and began to retell her dream. During the middle of it, a pang of anxiety hit her stomach. _Why am I so nervous? _Mai asked herself. _Well, I was a little nervous for being possessed for a moment, but it was only for a moment. But this anxiety...it feels too strong for this situation.__  
_

"So, the husband was abusive." Lin rubbed his chin. "Maybe one of the ghost's here is the spirit of the wife who wants revenge?"

"But she looked so kind in my dream!" Mai objected. "She put her kids first before anything else!"

"People can change, Mai." Naru stood up to his full height . "People can change."

* * *

_(A/N: Just a small part showing Jealous Naru :3)_

_**Naru's POV**_

_Earlier _

Kazuo took us on a tour of the house. He showed us the base and where we would be sleeping. This place was larger than what I originally thought, but I knew we would have enough cameras. Every once in a while we would hear a door open and close, but Kazuo said that it must have been his mother moving about. Ever since the lost of her child, Kazuo's mother had been constantly moving about. She claimed she couldn't stand sitting any longer. Kazuo inclined his head to look at me, which caused another staring contest. He backed off after twenty seconds. I barely hid my smirk. Sorry, but I was the Glare Master.

"So, Shibuya-san," Kazuo started. "Is Mai your girlfriend?"

"No, Juba-san." I felt my patience instantly rubbing away. Lin hid his snicker. "But I know that she isn't pursuing a relationship right now." I added for...some reason. Why _was _I so angry with him? Is it because he liked Mai? A feeling rose into my chest at the mere thought of her name. No, Mai was my assistant, nothing more. I'm probably just wanting tea right now.

"And you know how?" Kazuo asked.

"I've spent a much longer time with Mai than you. I think I would know what she wants to do and what she doesn't," I replied coolly.

"From what I've seen, you mostly insult her and make her pissed. Do you _really _know her?"

"The only thing you've done, Joba-san, is stand there and try to look pretty. Which, I may add, fails completely." I smirked and turned to Lin before Kazuo could reply. "Has everything been brought in?" I asked. Lin nodded in reply. "Good. Where did Mai go? Don't tell me she's lost."

"She is." Hayato scoffed behind us, causing everyone to turn around. "I'm quite sure of it. The girl sounds like quite a danger magnet."

"Hayato! Where were you?" Kazuo scolded. "Have you been following mother around again?"

"What else would I be doing?"

"And you're soaking wet!" Hayato looked down at Hayato's sopping wet shirt. "What happened?"

"I was careless and knocked over a vase. Now, if you excuse me, I need to go change shirts." I narrowed my eyes at his retreating back. Something's not right with him. Could he be...?

* * *

**_Normal POV_**

_"Kaniji! Noberu! Where do you think you're going?!" Mai put her hands on her hips. She and her two sons were standing in front of a mirror on the wall, but Mai wasn't able to see the mother's face. The boys, however, looked to be much older-sixteen or so._ _It must have been late at night, as the crickets were chirping and it felt colder than usual. _Were Kaniji and Noberu trying to sneak out? _Mai asked herself._ They're standing in front of the doorway... _"It's one AM in the morning, and you're sneaking out!"_ Yep.

_Mai's__ blue eyes softened. "Why're you leaving me with him?" She whispered. Kaniji and Noberu exchanged glances, and they had a silent conversation._ They must know about the abusive father, _Mai thought. _But the mother's right. Why would they leave her alone with a man like that?! Even if he was asleep..._ The mother often wondered _how _her boys were able to communicate without using words. Was it just a twin thing? "Boys, go back to your rooms right now. Please," she whispered, "before Takumo wakes up." Kaniji and Noberu hung their heads in shame._

_"...Mother, don't worry." Nobero lifted his head with determined green eyes and stared at his mother. "We're fixing this. He won't hurt you anymore."_

_"But-"_

_"He's right, mother." Kaniji added. "But we _need _you to go back to sleep." Mai was at a loss. How-Oh, no. They couldn't be talking to _him!

_"You've been talking to Anijio Rikuto again, haven't you?" Mai whispered. The twins' green eyes betrayed them. "You two were forbidden to speak to him! Don't you know what he's done in the past? He murdered his original family, for God's sake! Go march up to your rooms right now, and you are to stay there until morning! Anijio s a dangerous boy, and a bad influence!" Mai pointed at the stairs. "We'll talk about your punishment in the morning!"_

_"Mother, you can't believe any of the rumors about Rikuto-kun!" Kaniji pleaded. "Everyone's just afraid of him, so they spread some rumors-" _

_"They're not _rumors!" _Mai hissed. "I've heard Rikuto-kun's mother yelling at her son next door! I've heard the things he's done and honestly, it doesn't surprise me." Noberu shifted his feet uncomfortably._

_"But, mother-"_

"Mai..."

_Mai pointed at the stairs and said in a low voice, "Go to your rooms _now." _The boys sighed and trudged up the stairs. Once Mai heard the familiar "click" of a lock, she let out a sob, but quickly covered it. Another muffled sob escaped her lips. Honestly, how could she protect her two reasons for life from an abusive father _and _a teenage_ _murderer._..?

"Mai, wake up." Mai's eyes snapped open. She felt something wet against her cheeks and thought, _Was I crying? But I'm not sad. _"Mai, why're you crying?" _Straight to the point, as always. _Mai mentally groaned. _That's the second time Naru woke me up. _Mai sat up, and Naru leaned back.

"I had another dream, Naru." Mai wiped the tears away and began to tell her dream. "Was I crying because the mother was crying?" She guessed.

"Most likely. Now c'mon, Takigawa-san and Matsuzaki-san will be arriving soon." He stood up, and Mai followed.

"How soon?"

"Within two hours." Mai wanted to squeal, but she doubted her boss would like that. Although they could never replace them, Mai often thought of Bou-san and Ayako as parental figures. They argued all the time and they _obviously _were crushing on each other, so they fit the role perfectly! "The mother's name is Juba Akria, and the father's name is Juba Takahiro." Naru explained. "Juba-san refused to start breakfast without you." Naru opened the door to the dining room. Everyone else stopped talking and turned to face them. Mai felt her cheeks heat up. She hated being late!

"Good morning!" She greeted. Akira stood up. Her midnight black hair was long, but her brown eyes were a mixture of emotions. Mai couldn't tell if those chocolate brown orbs were full of happiness or sadness. _This is the mother who lost her baby? Sad, she doesn't look like she deserve to go through any of that pain. _

"You're finally awake." Akira smiled. "Please, sit down." So, Mai and Naru sat down. Breakfast was filled with laughter and talk, much to Mai's enjoyment. She hadn't had a breakfast like this in a long time. Shesmiled to herself. If it wasn't for the ghosts, Mai would have thought that the Juba family was perfect. Then again, thanks to her job, she learned first hand that not every family was happy with each other. "So, Mai, do you have a boyfriend?" Akira asked. Mai choked on the water she was drinking and her face quickly turned pink. Unbeknownst to anyone, Naru was suddenly listening.

"N-No, I'm not pursuing a relationship right now." Mai nervously laughed. _I don't think I'd be able to. Any dates I do go on only last once, and then my heart can't take it. Not since Naru-No, Mai! Think positive! _

"Well why not?" Takahiro bluntly asked. From what Mai could observe, she had guessed that Takahiro was a straightforward, honest, say it before you think it guy. "Did your last boyfriend dump you for another girl?"

"I don't believe that language is appropriate right now," Hayato replied with his eyes closed. "After all, it is only breakfast. Such questions are unnecessary and a complete waste of time. It would have been better use of your time to ask what these_ investigators_ think so far." He chewed on his scrambled eggs, swallowed and turned to Mai. "Wouldn't you agree?" Mai was stunned. Not only had the little boy talk back to his parents, then acted as if Mai, Naru, and Lin were never there, and then suddenly ask for Mai's opinion? It seemed Mai was right: Hayato was a wildly unpredictable boy.

"We haven't investigated enough to form a hypothesis. Not for me, at least." Mai answered after a moment of hesitation. Everyone talked and ate for a little while until breakfast was over. "Thank you for the food, Juba-san. The food was delicious." Mai smiled. Akira nodded a "thank you" and stood up to collect the plates. Looking at Akira's eyes, Mai finally decided what emotions were sparking within those chocolate orbs.

Sadness; complete and utter sadness.

* * *

"So, Hayato-kun, why're these rocks red?" Mai asked. After breakfast, Mai had been ordered to collect temperatures around the house. On the way, she saw Hayato looking closely at the trail of red rocks. A spark of curiosity had ignited within Mai, and she had intended to quench it. Besides, it was unnerving the way Hayato had smiled at the rocks. "Do you have any ideas?" Mai inquired.

"Do you think I do?" Hayato retorted. _He was just kinder to me this morning! _Mai growled in his head. _Does he have to change moods so quickly?! _Mai touched the tip of the rock, and her vision instantly changed.

_"You promised you loved me!" A woman sobbed. An _extremely _handsome man cupped the woman's face. Her sobs died down, but she sniffled. He leaned in close and captured her lips. _

_When they finally broke apart, the man said, "And I do. I will always love you, Yumi. It's your sister Yuina that's trying to tear us apart!" He captured her lips again, but slightly more forcefully than before. The woman leaned into the kiss and wrapped her arms around her lover's neck. Mai blushed. Why was she seeing this? This wasn't really related to the case! It was just two lovers meeting by a rock..._

"Gah! Help me!" Hayato cried. Mai snapped out of her vision and spun around.

Hayato was being lifted into the air by his hand.

For the first (and possibly last) time, Hayato honestly looked panicked. "Get me down from here!" She grabbed Hayato by the hand and started to pull him down, but with each pull, Mai felt as if she herself was getting lighter. Soon, even she was getting pulled. The next thing Mai knew, her feet were in the air and her breath was sucked out of her lungs. A sense of pure coldness washed over Mai. _Food, food! Yes! Oh, you just _ooze _psychic powers! _A voice that sounded worse than a thousand fingernails scraping a chalkboard erupted into Mai's head. _I've never seen anyone so powerful before, and you thought you were a medium! After I eat you, I can attract even _more _powerful psychics to eat! _The next thing Mai knew, the face of Takigawa Hoshou was kneeling over her. Hayato looked like he was crying.

"Jou-chan, are you alright? You're not hurt?" Bou-san shook her shoulders.

"I'm fine, Bou-san." Mai smiled, but her eyes remain terrified.

"Hayato!" Akira came running our of the house. She looked terrified beyond all belief and pulled her son into a hug. "Thank goodness you're alright. I thought I was going to loose another..." Her voice cracked. Hayato looked a little embarrassed, but hugged his mother none the less. After all, Hayato wasn't _that _cruel. Mai's and Bou-san's faces softened.

Bou-san turned to Mai and said, "Naru explained a little bit of the situation to us." He leaned in close and whispered, "Is it true the mother lost her baby?" Mai nodded sadly as Akira continued to sob. Something in her gut was telling her things were bigger than they seemed.

* * *

_A/N: You guys probably hate me right now XD I know I created more questions, but I promise I will answer them all! Pinky promise! Anyways, I found a beta reader! My friend offered to take the job, so I let her. Alright, I'm gonna be straightforward: **this story will be slow. **__I hate it when a case is solved in just _four _chapters. C'mon, that's too easy! _**Some chapters will also contain darker themes (horrific homicide, suicide, etc), and there will be themes in which some people will be uncomfortable with (yaoi, yuri, etc.) Don't worry! I won't write any lemons or limes in this story. I **__**really**__** don't like lemons or limes. :/ If there is a theme which may bug some people, I will let them know straight away, okay? **_I will also try my best at letting the romance build. I never feel like I'm that good at writing romantic fanfictions, even though I read/write them a lot XD (Meaning that's what I do pretty much do all the time.) Reviews are appreciated! Bai!_


	3. Case 1:: Mummy Won't Wake III

_(A/N: I feel like Mai's a little OOC at one part in here. So, just a fair warning!)_

**-Case 1-**

**(Terror rate: ** out of five.)**

**III**

**"Mummy Won't Wake"**

_Normal POV_

"Are you sure you heard the word 'eat?'" Ayako questioned one more. Mai exhaled through in her nose in frustration. After the incident, Takahiro had also crushed Hayato in a hug once Akira was done hugging him. Naru and Lin arrived on the scene just after the father and son pulled apart. While Mai was repeating what happened to Naru and Lin, Ayako had checked Hayato for any wounds ("Great, the last thing I need is an _old hag_ to check this body."), although a _bit_ reluctantly.

But only just a bit.

After announcing Hayato was alright, Ayako insisted on checking Mai. A small argument ensured, with Mai claiming she was perfectly fine, but in the end, Ayako didn't check on her. Instead they retreated into the protection of the dining room. "You're absolutely sure you heard it correctly?" Ayako repeated.

_"Yes, _Ayako-san, I'm one hundred percent sure!" Mai threw her hands into the air, but her eyes softened. "I'm worried about Masako, though. She's much more powerful than I am-"Monk and Ayako glanced at each other and held a split second conversation before returning their attention to Mai-"so she's in more danger than me. Her phone must have ran out of battery 'cuz it goes straight away to voicemail, and we can't contact her in any other way to warn her. What if Masako gets hurt?"

"Oh, worrying about your rival now, eh?" Monk grinned, knowing it would distract Mai. As predicted, Monk was right, and Mai blushed and pouted.

"She's not my rival! And c'mon, guys, get serious!" She whined. "Slacking off and teasing won't solve this case!" Ayako and Monk stared at Mai with incredulous eyes.

"You've been spending too much time around Naru-bou, Jou-chan," Monk commented. "Soon, you'll become a tea addict and be snappy and stoic. _'Bou-san, it would bring great pleasure to my ears if you stopped talking and got back to work, or I'll dock your pay.'" _Mai laughed, although she was still angry. Even then, she had to admit that Monk _did _do a pretty accurate impression.

"Are we done acting like little children?" Naru's cold, yet calm voice cut through the air as he stood in the door frame. Monk sputtered and Ayako stifled her laugh. _Oh, Bou-san, you're so in trouble now! _Mai giggled in her head. "Good. Then get to work. Takigawa-san, Matsuzaki-san, record the temperatures, as Mai's handwriting is illegible." Mai fumed as Naru shot Monk and Ayako a glare when they groaned. He turned to Mai. "Mai, Juba-San is still distressed. Right now she's cleaning the dishes, so calm her down. She's quite loud." Mai fumed again, but she knew that Naru _was_ worried about the woman, but his awful, stubborn pride wouldn't admit it.

"Of _course _she's distressed, you egoistic jerk! She just nearly lost her youngest son, and you're complaining about her being _loud?!"_ Mai growled. "What're you even going to do, anyways?"

"We're going to need information, and Yasuhara-san will be put up to the task. The rest is my business. Now you can get back to work."

"Jerk!" Mai growled, but went off to help Akira, anyway. On the way, she could have sworn she heard Ayako shout, _"Mai's handwriting looks perfectly normal!" _But maybe that was in Mai's imagination. When she found her, Akira was putting the dishes away, sniffling every few seconds. "Juba-san? Are you alright?" Mai asked. Akira looked up, chocolate brown orbs puffed and red. She shook her head and insisted she was fine. Mai's eyes softened and she took the dishes from Akira.

"Oh, I can't make you clean the dishes!" Akira exclaimed. "That would be extremely rude of me, Taniyama-san!" Mai shook her head and smiled.

"I don't mind. Really, I don't. Oh, and please call me Mai." She smiled.

"Then call me Akira." Realizing she would have lost anyways, Akira sat down on the table and absentmindedly put her hand on her stomach. _Poor Akira-san_, Mai sympathized. _Loosing a child is always hard on the mother... _"So, Mai-chan, do you _really _have a boyfriend?" Mai felt a blush go all the way up to her ears. _Oh, no, not this again! Well, at least she's distracted, but she looks like she's been itching to ask this question for a while. Probably ever since it was brought up..._

"N-No," Mai stuttered. "Why-"

"Forgive me if I'm overstepping my boundaries, but I'm guessing you've already confessed before?" Mai stared at Akira with wide eyes, and Akira gave a sad smile. "Your eyes betray you Mai-chan. So how long ago was it, if you don't mind me asking?" Mai internally sighed. _She may be kind but she's stubborn about stuff like this. I know that just by looking at her._

"A few months ago," she finally answered. "We'll call him...Ichiro. Ichiro and I were standing by a tree, and that's when I found out he was going away for a while." Mai felt the familiar, painful ache claw at her heart. "Well, I couldn't face myself knowing I would let him go without knowing my feelings for him. So, I finally got the courage to ask him, and Na-Ichiro asks if I loved him, or his brother." Akira gasped.

"That's terrible!"

"I know." Mai groaned. "And it's even worse that his brother and I never really had a _real _conversation, and all together, we hadn't seen each other for very long whenever we did. N-Ichiro just _blew _me off. I did love his brother, but like, well, an older brother, nothing more." Another wave of pain hit Mai's heart, but she forced it away as best as she could. "So, while he was away, I went out on a couple dates, but they never lasted long. Almost all of them ended on the first date, and after a while, I knew this would keep happening, no matter how much I tried to convince myself. After that, I just kinda...stopped, I guess."

None of them noticed the sliding door was opened slightly.

"Well, I'm just glad no one took advantage of your situation and did something to hurt you," Akira admitted. "I was rejected once, too. Some guy took advantage of that, and I was _almost _in a abusive relationship, but I left right away. I'm gad I did, too."

_Abusive? Like the woman from my dream! Could she know about her? _Mai looked at Akira out of the corner of her eyes. "Well, she certainly _looks_ like her," Mai muttered aloud. Akira perked up and tilted her head to the side.

"Look like who?"

_C-Crap! Did I just say that aloud?! _"U-Uh, someone I kinda know. Well, more like _heard _off."

"Do I know her?" Akira asked.

"W-Well, maybe. I don't remember the woman's name, but I know she had two sons-twins-and a husband. They used to live here."

"Could you perhaps be talking about my great, great, great aunt Anju?" Akira raised an eyebrow. _So that's her name! _Mai thought with triumph and nodded in confirmation. "How do you know her?"

"Oh, well, I overheard her name once," Mai lied sheepishly. Akira raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. "So, how do you know of her? I mean, I know you're family and-"

Akira cut her off with a laugh. "I once did a project a couple years back. I wanted to find more about my family, so I searched, and found out more about Anju. She had such a sad life..."

"What happened?"

"For starters, Anju was abused as a child, but no one ever did anything to help her. Later on she was trapped into an arranged marriage and never escaped. Even worse, she was murdered by one of her sons, but no one knows which one. Anju also had an abusive husband, too, but her sons we're apparently very nice, until the next door neighbor moved in. One of her sons killed his brother and the rest of his family, then he killed the neighborhood boy and the boy's family family. Realizing what he had done, the boy killed himself. What a sad life for them..." Mai gasped. _How horrible! _She thought. On the bright side, Mai could confirm that Anju was _definitely _the woman from her dreams, but at a bitter price.

"Could the boys' names be...Kaniji and Noberu?" Akira stared incredulously at Mai.

"Yes, how did you know?"

* * *

_Mai's POV_

"Could the ghosts of the boys be haunting this place?" Bou-san suggested. Naru's lips tugged into a frown.

"It's a possibility." I rubbed my arms and stared down at the floor. _Something's not right. It feels...too calm right now, like something bad is about to happen. _"Mai? Are you even listening?" I snapped out of my thoughts and looked at Naru, and I felt a blush rise to my cheeks when everyone was staring at me expectingly. Great, now Naru's ticked off with me!

"I'm sorry, I was kinds absorbed in my thoughts." I nervously laughed and rubbed the back of my head. "What was the question again?"

"Have you had any more dreams or visions?" Ayako repeated, knowing Naru wouldn't.

"No-" I was cut off by Naru's phone ringing. He answered it and put it on speaker.

_"Hey, guys! Wassup?" _It was Yasuhara-san! _"Anyways, I got the information you wanted, Big Boss. We'll start from, well, the start. There used to be a hotel here once. It was called the, 'Sekimen-fū,' otherwise known as the 'Blushing Wind,' way back in the Ansei* era. It was torn down after people went missing, but police could never solve the case, nor could they find the missing persons. There was no pattern in the missing people-No one shared anything alike. Age, hair, nationality. You name it, and there was nothing connected to any of the victims. After the case was put away, the Uedas moved in. There was Ueda Takumo, Ueda Anju, and their sons Kaniji and Noberu. One of the sons killed their whole family, and the next door neighbor's family. Eventually, the boy killed himself, and other members of the family took over. They say the boy who killed the two families kept shouting, 'Teivel tells me to do it!' as he killed them. Creepy right?"_

_"Very _creepy." Ayako gave an involuntarily shiver.

_"Sorry, Big Boss, but that's all I got right now."_

"Thanks, Yasuhara-san!" I chirped.

_"Anything for you, Little Boss! And Big Boss, you better give Little Boss a big kiss goodn-"_

"Goodbye." Naru hung up, and I swore my ears were steaming, I was blushing so much! Oh, why did Yasuhara-san have to say that?! I glanced over at Bou-san, and he looked livid, while Ayako looked like Christmas came early. I stifled my giggle when Ayako whacked Bou-San on the back of the head when he opened his mouth to say something.

"Doesn't Teivel mean, 'Devil' in Yiddish?" Ayako volunteered after that moment of silence. Bou-san blinked in surprise, his lividness (and pain) forgotten.

"How do you know that?"

"I once cleansed a house that belonged to a person obsessed with the Yiddish culture." She shivered. "He was totally obsessed with it, and kept spurting random facts all the time."

"The point is," Naru said with a subtle note of irritation, "we might be dealing with more than one spirit here. Mai, are you sure you haven't had any visions?" Naru frowned. I stopped and thought for a moment.

"Yuina, Yumi, and Ryuuto." I blurted out. Wait, why did I say that? Somehow, in my gut, I knew why. "They're related to the case, I know it." As soon as I said that, the lights started to flicker and the table shook once, twice, then stopped. The lights shut off completely after that, and all the moniters switched off. Everything was dead quiet. My eyes widened when the room temperature started to drop drastically.

Why am I _always_ in these kinds of situations?

**_"It doesn't matter if you won't let me leave..." _**The coffee table that once sat in the middle flew up into the ceiling and broke apart. Everyone covered their head as the pieces rained down on us. Bou-san narrowed his eyes and started to chant, but it had no effect. **_"You can't stop me, Yuina." _**The next thing I knew, I was thrown against the wall. I faintly heard Naru and Ayako calling my name. **_"I'm leaving with him. He loves me, and I love him! You tried to separate us so many times, and for that..."_ **I felt a pair of cold hands around my throat, and my feet left the ground as I was lifted higher and higher up against the wall. **_"I have to kill you."_**

"Na...ru..." I choked. Lin whistled and white flashes appeared before my eyes. The hold on my neck was gone, and I fell, gasping for air. Naru was by my side in an instant.

"Naru! Look!" Ayako cried. There, in the middle of the room stood an outline of a woman. Waves of energy pulsated from her, and for a moment everyone was too stunned to move. She looked at me and grinned evilly, but in a sad way, as if she conflicted on whether or not to do this. Her teeth were yellow and had bits of rotten flesh in them, and I noticed tears started to pour down from where her eyes would be if we could see them. In a blink of an eye, she was right in front of my face, and Naru and I were pushed against the wall. The outline of the woman edged closer to us, and she opened her mouth. A putrid wave of rotten flesh and blood hit my face, and I screamed.

"Mai-chan!" Akira-san shouted at the doorway. When did she come here?! The rest of her family was there, all shocked, except for Hayato-kun. He watched the scene with emotionless eyes, but the corner of his lips were tugged into a smirk, as if he was enjoying the scene. Hey, don't enjoy a _ghost _breathing down my face! The ghost turned around and approached them, but Hayato-kun stepped in front of his family. There was a show down between them for a pain stacking minute, but the ghost left. The lights flickered back on, and everyone was released from their paralysitic spell. "Mai-chan, Kazuya-san, are you two alright?" Akira-san ran over to us and crouched down. Naru said nothing and stood up on his own, while I smiled at Akira-san.

"I'm alright," I said, but it sounded like I was trying to convince myself more than reassuring her. I heard footsteps come closer, and my eyes widened.

"Mai-san!" No way! Was that _John-san?_

* * *

"So you were called in to go with Masako?" I set a cup of tea down in front of him. John nodded, smiled a thanks, and took a sip of the tea.

"Hai. Shibuya-san called me in after the incident with Hayato-kun." He took another sip of his tea.

"Yeah, that was pretty creepy. Speaking of creepy, Hayato-kun acts kinda strange for his age, doesn't he?" I wondered aloud as I tapped my chin. "And he never _exactly _answers our questions. I asked him how old he was, and he just said, 'I appear seven, don't I?'. When I said he did, Hayato-kun said he wanted it that way." Just then, the door opened, and Naru and Lin stepped in. "Oh, Naru, there you are."

"Mai, tea." JERK! He could have at _least _tell me where he was! I grumbled about him being a egoistic jerk as I stormed off into the kitchen. I didn't look back because I knew Naru would have that irritating _smirk _of his on his face. In the kitchen, if I listened close enough, I could hear bits of their conversations. Hey, it wasn't eavesdropping if it was related to the case (which _I _was on)...right? Listening closer, I heard Naru say, "Where's Hara-san?" I frowned. That's right, I haven't seen Masako yet.

"I believe she's talking with Juba-san in the kitchen," John replied. Well, as annoying as she is, at least Masako is safe. I finished the tea and headed back to base. Outside the door, I heard John say, "You think Hayato-kun is possessed?"

What?! I opened the door.

"Hayato-kun is possessed?" I repeated and set the tea down. "Well, that does make sense... Hey, maybe that's why he was following me?" I wondered aloud (again). Naru frowned as he brought the tea cup up to his lips. His eyes flashed dangerously, and I gulped.

"He was following you? When was this?"

"I didn't tell you?"

"No, Mai, you obviously didn't. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been asking you these questions." I fumed. "When was he following you?"

"Well, I don't have any proof, but it was more of a _feeling _that he was following me. When I was walking around when I lost everyone, I didn't see any other person, but a vase was knocked over by someone who was there a few minutes earlier," I explained. Naru frowned, and I could tell what he was thinking. "No, I don't remember _how _I got lost. Every time I try to, my head starts to hurt." I rubbed my temples. After trying again and again to remember how I stranded from everyone in the the first place, I always came up with nothing but a headache. "Did Hayato-kun do anything weird when I was gone?"

"Hayato-kun's shirt was wet when we saw him, and he didn't directly answer our question when we asked him where he was."

"If Hayato-kun is possessed, then how long has he been possessed?" John asked. I mulled over the question. _How _long had Hayato-kun been possessed, if Naru was right? Oh, what're you talking about, Mai! Naru is _always _right.

I suppressed a shudder. Did I really just think that? I bit my lip as I could only imagine Naru's reaction if I ever said that out loud. He'd probably agree, to be honest. No-he would agree.

"According to Juba-san, Hayato-kun has been acting strange all month," Masako said, which pulled me from my thoughts. When did she get here?! "But it hasn't been consistent. Sometimes, he would act as he normally would, but then sulk a minute later. Juba-san has expressed her worry that she does not believe her son's behavior is natural, and seeing the way he acted today at breakfast, she believes he is possessed." Masako covered her mouth with her kimono haughtily. John nodded, satisfied with the answer.

"Is Juba-san with his son Kazuo-kun?" He asked, and Masako nodded.

"When do we start it?" I asked Naru.

"The sooner the better."

* * *

_Normal POV_

When they went upstairs, Hayato was already asleep. Akira had said to them that it takes a while for Hayato fall asleep, but when he does, he's out like a light.

"You know, when he isn't insulting us or acting proud, he's kinda adorable. Of course, that's only when he's asleep." Ayako commented.

"So you watch little boys when they sleep, eh?" Ayako smacked Monk on the back of his head so hard that he fell over. Mai sighed. _They're like a married couple,_ Mai thought. _It's_ obvious _that they like each other, though. Why don't they admit it?_

"Once you're done behaving like ill mannered children, we can start." Masako's voice was, surprisingly, loud and clear since her mouth was, as usual, covered by her kimono. Ayako and Monk stopped fighting but shot a glare at the kimono girl. In return Masako made no indication that she acknowledged their glare, which only made it worse. Mai sighed. Some things had never changed, but then again, she wouldn't have it any other way.

"Shouldn't we wait for him to wake up?" Mai whispered. "It'd be really rude of us to wake Hayato-kun up."

"Whether he's asleep or not doesn't matter," Naru interjected and looked to John, as if asking if he was ready. John nodded in confirmation, stepped forward, and began the exorcism. Akira grabbed Mai's hand suddenly and closed her eyes. She inhaled deeply to calm herself, and Mai squeezed her hand in reassurance. Akira's eyes snapped open and she looked at Mai gratefully. Suddenly there was an extremely loud "BANG", as if someone had rang five large gongs at once. Everyone but John, Naru, and Lin covered their ears.

_"No!" _Akira's and Mai's heads snapped in Hayato's direction. He continued to squirm on his bed as his eyes widened. He thrashed and thrashed, making inhumane noises at the same time. _"No! I refuse to leave! I'll kill you all!" _Hayato arched his back and screamed. _I've never seen such a violent reaction, _Mai thought as Akira covered her gasp with her hand. The lights flickered on and off and the noises continued to grow. Monk gritted his teeth and started to chant, but when he did, everything abruptly stopped. Naru narrowed his eyes when Hayato looked at him straight in the eye with mad eyes. _"When the end comes, you won't be able to protect her from me..." _His eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he stopped moving altogether. For a moment, Mai thought she saw panic swell up in Naru's eyes, but it was gone as soon as it came.

"It's done," John announced. "I've never seen such a violent reaction," he admitted, "in a case like this."

"Will he be alright?" Akira asked. She stepped forward with worried eyes. "My son is okay, isn't he?"

"He's fine." Naru reassured. "He probably won't know what's been happening for the past month, and he will most likely not recognize us. You'll have to fill him in later on the situation." Akira nodded as she continued to stare at her son. She got down on her knees and brushed some of Hayato's read hair away from his sleeping eyes. She smiled, and her hand trailed down to his cheek.

"Once he wakes up, I think you'll like him," she whispered. "He's quite a bright little boy." Akira closed her eyes and leaned against Hayato's head. "Before he was possessed, he was always quite a happy boy. One day, when we took a road trip, he found a turtle on the side of the road and named it Midori. Hayato played with it all day and into the evening. When we had to leave, he was so upset he couldn't stop crying. After a week, he got over it, though, and then we moved in and..." Monk put a hand on Akira's shoulders.

"You should get some sleep. Something tells me you're going to need your energy if you're going to explain the situation tomorrow." Akira nodded, stood up, and bowed a thanks to Monk.

"Thank you." This time Mai couldn't help but note that, for the first time since they arrived, there was a tiny spark of happiness in Akira's eyes.

A/N: I'm sorry this is so late! D: there's a bunch of reasons why; health, revising, inspiration, but I'm not going into details. Even then, I'm still _reaaaaaaalllly_ unhappy with this chapter, but as I'm over a month late it's a bit too late for redoing it T^T Time flies waaaay too fast, especially during the summer! (Or winter, if you're on the southern part of the world.) So, as an apology, this is over 4,000 words long! Yay? Anyways, R&amp;R, please!

*Ansei era-1854-1860


	4. Case 1:: Mummy Won't Wake IV

**Case 1**

**(Terror Rate: *** of five stars, **** if you hate bugs...)**

**IV**

**"Mummy Won't Wake"**

_Normal POV_

From now on Shibuya Psychic Research would now and forever be the, "Ghost Butters," courtesy of Hayato. In the morning before breakfast, Hayato, no longer possessed, ran down the stairs into the kitchen and jumped up and down in front of Mai. His eyes shined with curiosity and naïveté, but also with innocence. _"You're like the Ghost Butters from America, right?!" _He kept shouting, much to Naru's annoyance. Akira apologized over and over again, explaining that Hayato had once seen the Ghost Busters and had taken a liking to them and all things supernatural very quickly. Unfortunately, Hayato had always taken to giving people nicknames and purposefully saying things wrong.

Mai had to admit; she really _did _like Hayato when he wasn't possessed.

"Mi-Mi-chan." Hayato latched onto Mai's arm and pointed to Ayako. "Who's that?" _Is that my nickname? Mi-Mi-chan? _Mai thought with confusion_. _Hayato tugged on her arm again to grasp her attention.

"That's my friend Ayako. She's a priestess." Mai smiled when Hayato's eyes widened, and he let out a gasp. In a split second, he frowned, and tilted his head to the side, obviously confused.

"Priestesses preach things, just likes priests, right?" Hayato inquired, then went on without giving anyone a chance to answer. "Then they're kinda useless, aren't they? I mean, I could preach things easily, but making it my _job? _Complete waste of time." Mai nervously laughed when five tick marks appeared on Ayako's head. _That's the worse thing you can say to her,_ Mai thought, _besides insulting her beauty._

"Hayato, don't be mean." Kazuo scowled and turned to Ayako. "Please forgive my little bother, as he has no filter." He bowed and shot Hayato a glare. "Besides, being a priestess doesn't mean you _preach _things, neither for a priest, either."

"I'm going to trust my instinct and say they preach things." Hayato blew a raspberry. In response, Kazuo sighed, but perked when Mai let out a small laugh.

"So, did anything happen while dad and I went fishing?" He inquired.

"Mom can fill you in on it, Kaz-Kaz." Hayato grinned. Ayako stifled her giggle by covering her mouth. _Kaz-Kaz? _"Please don't get upset, Kaz-Kaz! I know I'm not supposed to use my nickname for you around people, but these aren't just ordinary people!" Hayato dramatically gestured to Mai and Ayako. "They're the _Ghost Butters! _Gotta catch 'em all!"

"That's Pokémon, Hayato."

"It's Ghost Butters!"

"That's not even their name. They're Shibuya Psychic Research."

"Well, it's time for them to change their name!"

"It's also time for you two to weed the garden." Hayato and Kazuo stopped their quarrel and looked at their mother with owlish eyes. Hayato opened his mouth to say something, but his mother cut him off. "The garden's been a mess, and I haven't the time to weed it. You two boys be a dear and weed it for me, will you?" And with that Akira handed them each a pair of gloves and two garbage bags. "Watch out for the centipedes, they're getting large. Now get along. I don't want to bring out the socks again, do I? After all, it took such a long trim to get them off last time, hmm?"

"Why does she remind me of Naru, in a way?" Ayako muttered to Mai. In response, Mai shook her head and shrugged.

"Maybe it's the way they're cowering in front of Akira-san?" Mai volunteered. In a flash, Kazuo and Hayato had bolted off into the garden without looking back. There was a loud "thump", as if one of the boys had pushed one another over in their attempt to run away. Akira clapped her hands, smiled, and turned around to face the girls.

"I never had the chance to say good morning to the both of you. Did you sleep well?"

"I didn't really sleep," Mai admitted sheepishly. "Ayako and I took the monitor watch."

"More like I was _forced _to." Ayako grumbled under her breath. "Mai insisted on Lin-san getting some sleep. She went as far as to almost threatening him with Madoka, and of course Mai insisted on me doing monitor duty with her once Lin-san gave in." Akira laughed.

"If it makes you feel better, I used to have a job on a horse farm when I was little. Well, it wasn't really _my _job, it was my brother's, but I always tagged along. One time, he wanted to hang out with his friends, so he tricked me into cleaning up _all _of the stables. He didn't come back until sunset, too!"

"How in the world did he trick you into doing that?" Mai exclaimed.

Akira shrugged. "Maybe he said something about being a, 'good little sister,' or something along the lines of that. Well, after that, I wasn't the nice little sister he was used to," she said sweetly. "Let's just say he'll never approach a frog at night ever again." Even though Akira saw that Ayako and Mai were waiting for an explanation, she continued to smile sweetly and stayed silent. "So, what do you girls want for breakfast? Toast? Eggs? Pancakes? Pancakes it is." She went off to make breakfast, leaving a (if possible) even more confused Mai and Ayako.

"Does she seem more..._open_ with us, now that we've been here longer?" Mai inquired. Ayako shrugged and shook her head.

"Definitely."

* * *

**_Naru's POV_**

I flipped through the notes from the interviews Lin and I had conducted yesterday. It seemed that the father would always feel something pushing him wherever he was; on his bed, in a chair, standing up, etc. Of course, we only got that information out of him after he persistently asked about my relationship with Mai. Very persistently. And aggressively. For too long of a time. To be honest, he was quite annoying. Why did the Juba-sans want to know our relationship so badly?

Besides that, the interviews had gone smoothly. The only person we had left to interview was the youngest child of the Juba family, and he was due ten minutes ago. My eyes flickered to the door when they were slammed open. Hayato-kun stood in the doorway, panting heavily. Kazuo-_san_ soon emerged, also panting heavily, but not nearly as much as his brother.

"Sorry we're late." Hayato-kun straightened up and hopped over to the couch across from me. "Haha-san* threatened us with socks since we were late, so Kaz-"

"Don't even _finish_ that sentence." Kazuo-san hissed and a small smirk tugged at my lips. He was a lot more cautious around me after I found him flirting with Mai last night. Needless to say, he won't be doing it anytime soon. "Anyways, tell everyone about your experience here, alright?"

"Okay!" Hayato-kun sang. "Well, it all started when we moved in, ya see. I felt like the house was _reaaaallly _weird when I first stepped in, and that's when I first saw _them. _I think their names are Kaniji and Noberu?" He tapped his chin in thought. "Anyways, that's their real names, but who wants to get called that? So I started calling them Kanj-Kanj and Nob-Nob. Handy, isn't it? They weren't the only people I saw, too. Sometimes, I would hear people talking about stuff that happened a looooong time ago, even though no one was there. I could tell they were from a long time ago, because some were talking about the Ansei-Nankai Quake*, which happened a really long time ago, too! Sometimes I'd hear screams in the middle of the night, but no one else would, or I'd hear someone shout, 'Where is my Netanya?!' With a really weird accent, but Nob-Nob and Kanj-Kanj protected me from everyone. They even protected from Mr. A."

"Mr. A?" I repeated. Kazuo-san looked as if he had never heard the name before, either.

"I call him Mr. A or Mr. T. It stands for 'Mister Angry' or 'Mister Trouble Maker' or I just call him, 'Mister Meanie.' He likes to move stuff around and turn the appliances on at night. He also likes to mess up all the rooms, too, even after I clean mine! And for your information, I _never _clean my room. I clean everything else, but never my room. Anyways, he messed my room all up, even Kaz-Kaz's room! So one day I yelled at him to stop after he threw everything from our room into the hallway one evening, and he said I would regret it." Hayato-kun suddenly stared down at the floor, his excited energy gone. "And that's the day where haha-san lost the baby. I saw him standing over her, too, except he had red eyes instead of his usual brown eyes. After that, Kanj-Kanj and Nob-Nob brought over their mother Anju-san, but I call her Ju-Ju. Anyways, she had protected me from the other ghosts that showed up, too."

"What other ghosts?" I inquired.

"Well, I wouldn't call him a _ghost, _cuz he doesn't give off the same vibe, but there was a man here. He was just walking around in front of my room one day. I asked who he was, and he just looked at me and I froze. He snapped his fingers, and then I saw a new girl that looked _reaaaally _angry. Like, more angrier than someone who steps in dog poop, ya know? Or when someone falls out of a moving car on a highway. Or when your girlfriend cheats on you with your cousin. Anyways, she disappeared and I was still frozen. I couldn't even _breathe!" _Hayato-kun pointed to his throat and puffed out his cheeks dramatically. "He said that he needed to use my body for a while, whether I liked it or not. I told him to go-"He said some words which a kid shouldn't even know of, which made Kazuo-san nearly fall off the couch-"and that made him angry. I guess watching MTV while haha-san was gone _wasn't _a good idea."

"How does he even get MTV? _Why _is he even watching it?" I heard Kazuo-san mutter under his breath. "I swear, this kid gets into everything these days..."

"Anyways, I realized that he sounded like that guy who kept shouting for his Netanya. After that, things get a little blurry. I don't really remember this past month. Whenever I would get a clear head, I'd see Mr Meanie with his really creepy red eyes, and then Mr Even-More-Meanie-Man-With-Strange-Accent would show up and everything would turn fuzzy again. Sometimes, I'd just see Mr Meanie show up if I had a clear head, and then things would get fuzzy after that, too. But ever since I woke up, I haven't really been able to _see _anyone. I can kinda feel them and see their outline. I can catch a couple words, too. I have to really concentrate, though..." I nodded. So, Hayato-kun has the ability to see and communicate with ghosts. Could that be one of the reasons why he was possessed?

"Have you've seen the man with the strange accent since?"

"Nope! In fact-" Hayato-kun suddenly paled. Kazuo-san raised a brow.

"Is there something else?"

"...I wasn't supposed to say any of this. Like, he specifically said something _very_ bad would happen to someone if I did." Lin and I exchanged looks. An understanding passed between us, and he nodded.

There was definitely more to this case than what meets the eye.

* * *

_**Normal POV**_

"Matsuzaki-san, have you given out the charms to each of the family members?" Naru inquired later that evening. Everyone had gathered at base after Masako had looked over the house again while the Jubas were at a restaurant.

"Yeah, I did." Ayako answered and leaned on the back of the couch. "After the parents kept asking about my relationship with that idiot monk," she muttered under her breath. Mai piped up a little bit.

"I asked Akira-san about why she kept asking stuff like that, and she said she always like entertaining things."

"It's not entertaining, it's annoying!" Bou-san exclaimed exasperatedly. "It's like we're being interrogated or something! Seriously, they need to find some new form of entertainment-"

"Are we done here?" Naru glared at everyone (with the exception of John, Masako and Lin, of course). Everyone else shrunk back in their seats. After all, only Yasu and Madoka could stand Naru's glares. "I pay you to work, not to mess around."

"So what did you call us for?" John quickly cut in before another argument could break out.

"It seems like Hayato-kun told something he wasn't supposed to today. He was told that, if he revealed what happened to him while staying here, something very bad would happen."

"Wouldn't it happen to the family?" Ayako asked.

"He didn't say it would happen to the family, only that something bad thing would happen." He corrected. A heavy silence fell upon the group until Bou-san spoke up.

"So what do we do? Prepare for the worst?"

"Everyone's been assigned partners. Matsuzaki-san will stay with Hara-san, and Takigawa-san with John-san. Mai, you stay with me or Lin." Naru already felt a head ache from tea deprivation, he didn't need it to grow with Ayako's and Bou-san's constant bickering. Even though Masako and Ayako didn't get along, their bickering was nothing compared to Ayako's and Bou-san's.

"Why is Jou-chan always with you, Naru-bou?" Bou-san smirked.

"Now that you mention it, Mai's almost always been placed with Naru or Lin whenever there's danger." Ayako added. "Why is that?" Naru looked up from his notebook, unfazed, and then turned to Mai. Their eyes met, and they both were silent. Mai could easily see that Naru was guarding himself. After all, she had known him for such a long time that it made sense for Mai to pick up on what he was feeling. However, she felt less proud and a lot more angrier when she received the answer, "Because with Mai around I can call for tea whenever I want to, and she would actually hear it."

"YOU NARCISSISTIC LITTLE-"

"Can't we all calm down?" John attempted to pacify Mai as Masako watched with her kimono sleeve over her mouth. Really, Mai got worked up over nothing sometimes.

"Speaking of tea..." Mai felt her anger spike. _Don't you even- _"Mai, tea."

Needless to say, Mai slammed the door as she left.

* * *

Mai had her arms folded as she stormed to the kitchen. "Narcissistic jerk! I'm not soke kinda of tea girl girl who can magically make tea. I _hate_ his gigantic ego and-"

"And what, Mai?" Mai nearly jumped ten feet in the air. She put her hand over her heart to calm herself.

"_Naru! _Don't _do _that!" She exclaimed, which only made Naru's smirk grow. "What're you doing here, anyway?"

"Didn't you hear me, or are you losing your few brain cells that you have?"

"I can hear fine, jerk!"

"I didn't say your hearing was bad, Mai, I just said you didn't hear me," Naru replied, and he could have _sworn _there was steam coming out of Mai's ears. She opened her mouth to ask again, but Naru cut her off. "You're not supposed to go anywhere without me or Lin, Mai. Your memory is terrible."

"It's not my fault I got so angry and stormed off!" Mai huffed as she walked into the kitchen. "I don't even know _why _I'm making tea for you..."

"Because I'm your boss, Mai."

"Right, _Mr Boss." _Mai rolled her eyes and set the kettle on the stove. She scratched her arms once, twice, then a third time. _I feel like there's bugs crawling over my skin... _She scratched the back of her neck, and froze when she felt something crawl over her fingers. She looked at her hands and shrieked as the large, fat, centipedes roamed over them. A large spider crawled out of her sleeve, and then one more, then two, then five more...

She screamed and fell backwards as more bugs crawled out of her clothes. Some were even coming out of her socks. So many wasps and moths started flying through the air that they looked like thick fog. There were spiders crawling down the walls and hanging in the air. One landed in Mai's hair, and she slapped it away and backed into a corner. A scorpion climbed over her foot and she kicked it away. Beetles crawled up her arm and flew onto her neck. They bit at her clothes and skin until Mai slapped them away.

"No...no...no more..." She could faintly hear someone calling her name, but she was too panicked to pay attention to it. Black widows and beetles crawled to the center of the room and started to form into a person. Mai recognized it as the person who had caused all the damage in the base room yesterday. Even with all the loud noise, Mai could still hear a chuckle from her that sent shivers down Mai's spine.

_**"He warned the boy not to say anything. It's not our fault, is it, Yuina?"** _The figuresmiled. **_"Little children have to be punished, you know, but not yet. _This_ is only a taste of how terrifying our little 'event' will be when it _****_happens..."_** The figure disappeared, and more bugs started to appear. A wasp flew into Mai and stung her, but she barely acknowledged the pain. A hornet flew into the middle of the room, one so large it was as big as a hand, and turned to Mai's direction. With astounding speed, it bolted towards Mai, and she closed her eyes as something slapped her cheek.

_"Mai!" _She lifted a hand to her cheek, and blinked twice. She was in the corner, but all the bugs were gone. Her clothes weren't ripped and the figure wasn't in the middle of the room. There was, however, a broken tea kettle and a very concerned Naru kneeling in front of her with his hands on her shoulders. A sob threatened to break through, so Mai lunged forward and hugged Naru as tight as she could, not caring that he didn't like physical contact. To her surprise, he didn't push her away, but put a comforting hand on her back. "Mai, what happened?" Naru asked in an impossibly gentle tone.

"B-Bugs." Mai's voice was shaky, and it was evident that the medium was going to cry. "They w-were everywhere, a-all over m-my s-skin and c-crawling off t-the walls." Her voice cracked, and she tightened her grip. "Didn't you see them?"

"The only thing I saw was you having a panic attack." Mai lifted her head up to meet his eyes.

"What?" She breathed.

"You were making tea and you started freaking out is much that the kettle fell over. You backed yourself into a corner and refused to even let me come near you." Naru frowned. "There was no bugs at all. You must have been hallucinating."

"I wasn't, it was the ghost," Mai barely said above a whisper. "She must have caused all of...this. She was standing in the middle of the room with all the bugs, and she said that it was only a taste of how terrifying the event they're planning will be." A small sense of relief washed over Mai once Naru struck his famous thinking pose.

After all, if Naru couldn't find a solution, then no one could.

* * *

A/N: Well, that was fun writing the last part in pitch black darkness late at night. Yeah~! I flipping love writing Hayato. Seriously, he's one of my favorite OC's ever XD I felt like the ending was kinda rushed, but meh *shrug* For anyone who's wondering why there's a "Terrorr rate", it's a little personal experiment of mine ^^ But I wouldn't always trust it, cuz what I may consider something boring might be pretty scary for you guys...yeaaaaaah I ran into a lot of stuff as a kid, and this is the result. Woo! I apologize for any OOC Naru, too~ I'm still not used to writing from his point of view TT-TT By the way, updates will be slow! I don't write at a constant speed, which sucks. I write a little for a day or so, then a little more for maybe...3 days, and then I get a huge desire to write which often last a day or so, and then usually I'm done with the chapter. It sucks TTATT Because of that, weekly updates aren't my thing, if anyone didn't notice...so yeah, I'll try to get at least a chapter a month!

Last but certainly not least: Thank you, everyone! I've never received such a positive reaction for a story in my whole life. Soooooooo to

**bewitchedquill**

**Naruisawesome**

**14AmyChan**

**KhaalidaNyx**

**dramalover10**

**angelic94**

**Lulucutie12**

**Kagome Pureheart**

**yukihime88**

**Person P**

**Guest número uno~**

**Guest número dos~**

**Rin**

You guys are flipping amazing! And to everyone who has not reviewed, but is enjoying the story, you guys are awesome, too! ^=^ Alright, I need to go get some sleep because _holy crap _spending the day with two four year olds, a nine year old, an eight year old, and a two year old wears ya out, man. Thank goodness cookies give you energy...sometimes. That, and the slight weirdness and/or cheesiness or whatever the heck it is in the author note is also due to lack of sleep/energy. Or maybe I'm imagining things.

Gah, this is getting way too long. R&amp;R, s'il vous plaît!

*Haha-san is what you call your own mother. Okaa-san is used for someone else' smother, and is used to be polite.

*The Ansei-Nankai Quake was in 1854, I believe, and killed over 10,000 people.


	5. Case 1:: Mummy Won't Wake V

**Case 1**

**V**

**(Terror rate:...**?)**

**"Mummy Won't Wake"**

_Normal POV_

_Schizophrenia: when one has trouble differing illusions from reality, and starts acting extremely paranoid and secluded more so than the average person. Some can act emotionless. They think differently than most and react differently in social situations. Usually occurs in young adults._

After Mai had finally calmed down enough, she sat at the table as Naru cleaned up the mess after "offering" in the most Naru-ish way ever ("If you clean up in such a state, you'll end up hurting yourself and making an even bigger mess."). Mai closed her eyes and leaned her head against the back of the chair. She felt herself drifting into what would have been a (hopefully) blissful sleep when Naru placed something in front of her. She opened her doe-like eyes and was shocked to find a hot cup of tea sitting on front of her. She blinked once, twice, just to see if she was still imagining things or not. Naru paid her no mind and sat across from her at the table.

"Did you make this for me, Naru?" Mai asked incredulously. _Did Naru _actually_ make me tea?_ She brought the cup up to her lips and blew on it before sipping. The calming affect of the tea immediately set in, and whatever fear that had lingered behind floated away. _He's not too bad at making tea,_ Mai hummed in her head,_ but it's obvious he doesn't do it too often._

"Do you see anyone else who could have made it?" Mai's eyes snapped open and she nearly spit out her drink at him. He smirked in all his smug glory and sipped his tea, which only made Mai angrier. "You have a bad habit of staring at me, Mai. I know I'm attractive and that I make wonderful tea, but you should control yourself." Mai jumped to her feet and angrily made a fist.

"M-Maybe the ghost could have made me tea!" She weakly protested. _Ugh, that was lame, even for me._ Naru looked at Mai in a bored manner and raised his eyebrow.

"Are you so idiotic as to believe that, Mai?"

"S-Shut up! You never know with ghosts!"

"I know ghosts don't make tea."

"What if it possessed you?"

"Then I wouldn't remember making it, and I do."

"And what if it influenced you actions somehow?"

"I highly doubt that. Unless a ghost possess someone or threatens them somehow, then it cannot simply influences people's actions. Even if the ghost could, they have no reason for me to make tea."

"Maybe Ayako would dis-hey, where is everyone?" Mai looked around the room quickly. "Didn't they hear me screaming earlier from that...incident?"

"You didn't scream." Naru sipped his tea again. "You were just cowering in the corner like a tiny thing." _Why do I feel as if he just compared me to an animal? _Mai growled in her head. "It would have been useless to drag you back to base while you were in a panicked state. Everyone would have been frazzled over you, which I doubt you would like. Besides, I wouldn't be able to get any work done."

"...How is it that you're able to insult me _and_ help me in the same sentence?"

* * *

"...and then Naru snapped me back into reality." Mai finished. Before, Mai and Naru had finished their tea, argued a little more, and then headed back to base. They were immediately questioned as to why they took so long once Mai sat down. Naru simply ignored them, asked Lin if anything happened while they were gone, and left Mai to answer the obnoxious questions. After more pestering, Mai explained what happened.

Ayako and Bou-san were hugging each other out of fear once the tale was over, John's innocent eyes were wide as saucers, and even Lin and Masako seemed surprised. Mai rested her chin in the palm of her hands and sighed. _Why does this stuff always happen to me?_

"I hate bugs!" Ayako screeched, which caused Bou-san to flinch and snatch his arms away. _They didn't realize they were hugging each other? They can be really oblivious sometimes... _Mai whistled in her head.

"Don't scream in my ear!" Bou-san growled

"I didn't scream! You're the one screaming at me!"

_"I'm_ screaming at you?"

"Yasuhara-san sent us an email with the information you asked for." John piped up before a full blown argument could break out. "We decided to wait until you two came back before we read it. It would have been rude of us to read it without you."_ And you probably didn't want to face Naru's wrath? _Mai added dubiously. Naru nodded, satisfied. Everyone crowded around Lin or pulled up a chair when he opened it up.

_Dear Big Boss, my Darling Houshou-_Bou-san fell off his chair with a, "Gack!"-_and Little Boss,_

_Normally I would call, but I spent the day singing karaoke and gained a sore throat. If only you were here, my Darling Houshou, then everything would be perfect..._

_Anyways, Big Boss, I got the information you asked me to gather. First off, as we all know, Yumi and Yuina were sisters. Their real names, however, were Tomoe Kyou and Tomoe Haruka. That's not the only strange thing, too; Kyou was officially declared insane. There used to be a hospital about fifty miles away that took care of Kyou. In the records it said that she heard and saw things no one else could. She would be able to tell when someone would die and how they would, too. When it was asked how Kyou knew, she would always reply with, "They told me. They're everywhere. They're screaming at me to help them, but I don't know how. So I make them help me. No one besides Haruka understands me. I'm alone, but I'm always with them, no matter where I am. Can't you see them?" Apparently, Kyou-san said that so much that the nurses took note of it. Kyou was always void of emotion, extremely paranoid, and claimed that the doctors were sticking bugs in her brain and trying to kill her. The records also said that Kyou claimed she was constantly attacked by bugs, and that they were always crawling over the walls and over her clothes._

"That's like what happened to me!" Mai blurted out.

_If it was almost fifty years later the doctors could have realized that Kyou had- _

The laptop screen suddenly shut off. One by one, the monitors also shut off. The lights in the room flickered and then everything turned into darkness. Mai felt her body tense up and she grabbed the nearest person to her. There was a small gasp, but then Mai felt a hand squeeze hers. _These must be Masako's hands, _Mai guessed.

"Does anyone have a flashlight?" Bou-san asked.

"I think there's one on the table here." There was a shuffle, another unrecognizable sound, and a mixture between a yelp and a growl. "Ow! I stubbed my toe!" Ayako hissed.

"Miss Matsuzaki, if you don't want to stub your toe again then I _suggest_ you get the flash light." Naru irritatedly scowled, even if no one could see it. Ayako grumbled under her breath and searched blindly for the flashlight on the table. Finally, she found it and turned it on. The flashlight pathetically flickered once, twice, then died out completely.

"How is that possible? I just replaced the batteries yesterday!" Bou-san growled.

All of a sudden, something rang in Mai's ears. Her eyes widened, and her breath hitched. The unfortunate, yet recognizable sense of dread washed over Mai. Every part of her screamed, _"Move! Danger! Danger! Don't stay in this spot!"_, but where could she go in the pitch black darkness?

A cold shiver ran down Mai's spine, and her breath hitched again when she felt someone trace the back of her neck.

"M-Masako? Is that you doing that?" She whispered, but she doubted Masako even heard her. Considering Masako's grip increased ten fold, Mai had to guess that Masako did hear her, and the would have been a, "no."

"I can sense a spirit here. I don't believe it is the spirit you and Naru encountered earlier. It's very powerful, though-" Mai wasn't even able to reply when she felt her cheeks sting, as if a thousand hornets stung her at the same time. Falling backwards from the blow, Mai's grip on Masako's hand was gone, and Mai's head smashed into the ground. While her concioussness slowlt trickled away, there was the sound of a door opening with the tiniest slimmer of a dim light, and then everything turned to a lonely murkiness.

* * *

**Mai's POV**

"At least we found some candles," John-san said optimistically as he gave a large candle to Naru. "And the flashlight is working again. Well, sometimes..."

"But Masako is missing." I kept my eyes on the ground. Why did I let go? If I didn't, then Masako might have still been here! If I had stayed conciouss, then..._  
_

Acording to Naru, I was out for a couple minutes. Bou-san had put me on the couch (er, tried to. He mistook the floor for a couch one time, but he finally got it right the second time.) I remember waking up and still thinking I was unconciouss. It was only until I sat up did I notice I wasn't dreaming. The darkness was so thick I thought I could grab it with my hands.

"It's not your fault, Mai-san." John-san reassured me. "I think the spirit would have taken her at some point, and due to the slap mark on your cheek, I think it was determined to get her, no matter the costs."

"The spirit must have turned off the power, along with taking Hara-san." Lin-san concluded. Thanks to the candle he held, all of us could see the frown in his face. Even if Lin-san still held predijuice towards us Japanese, it had lifted a considerable amount once he and Naru returned. He could now talk freely with us (of course, Lin-san never really talks, but when he did he was relaxed).

"They're playing with us." Naru's lips tugged into a frown, too. "They're aware that we use electricity when we investigate them, and that Hara-san was able to see them. One of them must have possessed her and took off."

"Not to mention they attacked Mai and knocked her out." Bou-san huffed. "How's your head, Mai?"

"I'm fine, Bou-san." I gave a small smile. Truth be told, my cheek still stung so much I didn't dare touch it, and my head was pounding as if someone was hitting it with a hammer, but I didn't want anyone to worry over me. They would have over reacted (in fact, Bou-san did. Once he saw my cheek he swore he would excorise the ghost himself. That is, he said that after he finished hugging me to death...).

As if he read my thoughts, Naru scoffed. "Don't lie to us, Mai. Your cheek is still red." I flushed in embarrassment. I opened my mouth to reply when Naru cut me off. "You're an open book, Mai. Your emotions are easily shown."

"Who said I was going to ask about that!"

Everyone raised a brow, which caused me to huff and cross my arms. I hate being an open book...

"In any case, I hope the Jubas are alright. They seemed fine on the monitors before, but..." John-san's voice trailed off.

"I think they're alright." My hand's grip on my arms tightened. "My gut's telling me so."

"It's nice to know your animal instincts still stayed over time." Naru smirked.

"Don't forget, this girl with the _animal instincts _makes your _tea _every day, _Naru." _I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Lin-san, do your shiki sense anything?" John-san piped up. He probably knew that Naru and I were going to get into another argument. Hey, it's not my fault Naru's so..._Naru! _When Lin-san shook his head no, Ayako responded by whining.

"Moui, why don't we go out of this room and look for them?"

"Your hearing's getting bad, Old Hag. We only have a few candles. That, and we can't communicate with each other too well if we have no electricity." Bou-san rolled his eyes. I felt me eyes droop suddenly as a wave of exhaustion rolled over me. I leaned back against the couch and closed my eyes. I exhaled deeply and made myself more comfortable. A few minutes of sleep wouldn't hurt...

"Mai, don't-"

I fell asleep before whoever it was could finish their sentence.

* * *

I opened my eyes and saw myself outside the house. There was a dark flog that snaked around the house, but there was white orbs floating behind the black fog, as if they were trapped. The walls were transparent, just like...

"I'm in the astral plane," I muttered to myself. But where was Gene? He hadn't been showing up lately in my dreams...

"Does that mean he passed on?" I couldn't help but feel a little sad. After all-Gene was like an older brother to me. Well, if he's happy, then I should be happy. I inhaled deeply, exhaled, and started to walk towards the fog. As crazy as that might sound to someone, I felt like the fog wouldn't hurt me.

True to my instinct, the fog really didn't do anything. It just felt _extremely _cold, both inside the fog and inside the house. I swear frost grew on my arms! I shivered and rubbed my arms. Alright, Mai, focus!

I started to look around, but everything was cloaked in a thick darkness. I shivered and rubbed my arms again.

"I wish I brought a jacket..."

"Excuse me, miss, but what are you wearing? Where is your kimono?" A small voice squeaked. I piped up and turned around, but no one was there. Kimono? "M-Miss, I'm over here." I turned to the right and saw a girl with her hands folded behind her back. Her eyes were dark brown, and she had her hair up in a bun. She wore a dark red kimono decorated with orange lotuses designs. "What you're wearing is entirely unsuitable and I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to change clothes or leave."

"Who are you?" The words popped out of my mouth before I even knew I said them. The girl looked surprised, but smiled and bowed.

"I am Sato Junko. It is a pleasure to meet you." She bowed politely. With a flushed face, I bowed back, too. To be honest, after spending so much time getting insulted by Naru, I felt like politeness was a rare gift.

"I am Taniyama Mai."

"Taniyama-san, I hate to ask again, but please change clothes. My employer does like to keep the hotel's reputation as formal and clean." Hotel? But-

I felt the scene change, and before I knew it the house looked like a hotel. There was some people talking quietly with each other on the stairs, while there was some who were cleaning. The floor was clean, and sunlight poured in through the windows. I could hear a fountain outside, and there was some laughter far away. This place was beautiful, but why am I getting such a bad feeling about it?

"...What is this place called?" I asked quietly. Sato-san tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"This is the Blushing Wind, of course."

"The hotel with-"

"The disappearances?" Sato-san's face darkened, and she beckoned for me to come closer. Once I was close enough, she whispered, "Don't stay here. As a worker, I'm not supposed to say that, but I still believe the murderer is still here. I even heard someone scream once! And the scariest thing is, last night I was attacked and I blacked out, but that's all I remember! This morning I woke up, and my door was left open, but no one was there!" She suddenly stepped back and bowed again.

"I'll have to escort you outside then, Taniyama-san. This way, please." Sato-san started walking in the other direction, but everything was fading quickly. The sunlight retreaded, the people were fading away, and any warmth that used to be here was quickly escaping.

"Wait! Hold on!" I shouted, but the hotel was quickly fading. The temperature drooped, and my breath turned into a fog. I shivered and crossed my arms. I forced my eyes shut as my teeth chattered. C'mon, Mai! Wake up! I need to wake up-

_"Netanya..." _I felt a cold finger trace the back of my neck, just like what happened earlier. I started to shiver again, but it definitely wasn't because of the cold. The finger traced down from my neck, over my back and then on my stomach, and that's when I felt an even colder arm wrap itself around me. I felt three sharp nails dig into my skin and drag them across my stomach. I was paralyzed with fear-I couldn't move, no could I speak. Finally, I screamed as loud as I could.

_"No!"_

* * *

**Normal POV **

"-fall asleep right now, Jou-chan!" Bou-san whined, then stopped. "How does she do that? Falling asleep so quickly?"

"Because this is Mai we're talking about." Naru pinched the bridge of his nose. "Never the less, keep her asleep. She might find some valuable infirmation for us. Lin, are the monitors back on-"

"Jou-chan! You're awake!" Mai stirred a bit and moaned. She sat up, but immediately stiffened. She rubbed her temples, as if she had a headache, and winced. Before she knew it, the poor girl was engulfed in a hug by Bou-san. "You're freezing cold, Mai!"

"Let go of her, you old monk!" Ayako cried and chucked a pillow at his head.

"Ow! Ayako, that was me!" Mai whined.

"Oh. Sorry, Mai. _This _pillow was meant for that idiot!"

"Ow! What the hell Was that for?"

"Don't hug her to death!"

"Are you two _done_ acting like _idiots_?" Ayako and Bou-san stiffened, and Bou-san let go of Mai. Upon release, however, Mai let out a strangled cry and doubled over. She clutched her stomach as her shoulders shook.

"Mai!" Naru was immediately at her side. Mai shakily released her hand from her stomach and lifted it up to see it. John grabbed a flashlight and shined it on Mai's hand. Upon seeing it, everyone gasped.

"W-Why is t-there b-blood o-on my h-hand?" Mai stuttered. Naru's eyes narrowed dangerously at the sight. In a second, Ayako was right beside Mai.

"Mai, lift up your shirt quickly."

"W-What?! No!"

"Mai, lift up your shirt." Naru demanded, his tone hard.

"Don't worry, I'll be the only one who can see." Ayako soothed. Mai bit her lip, but did as told. Ayako's eyes widened at the sight. "Someone find me a medical kit!" She snapped.

If only Mai could see the three long, deep scratches on her stomach.

* * *

A/N: Errm, heeeeeeey guys. (^_^''''). I'm sorry this chapter is so late DX School started up, and I'm taking all honors and a college class. Fuuuuun. That, and my sister has mono for a month (For those who don't know, mono is a virus that is spread by bodily fluids, and more commonly kissing. It makes you _extremely _tired, and has a lot of symptoms (fever, nausea, itching, etc). Lastly, on my profile, there's a section for "Obsession". It'll say if the chapter is done, if it's being reviewed by my (as she puts it) "wonderful, amazing, best beta reader on earth", or any of that other fancy jazz. Also, expect a one-shot to come out soon! My beta read lovely forced me into a chair (she's not an online beta reader. We see each other in real life every day) and basically told me to write a one-shot. Trust me you don't say no to my beta reader...

Anyways, R&amp;R, aub! (It's Dutch for "Please". Thank you, google translate :3)


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